Disclaimer to JK Rowling

Admonitions to the Winds and Stars

Adapted from a line in the poem, "Hyperion" by John Keats

Chapter One: The Book I Opened

"When shall I look for thee and feel thee gone?
When cry for the old comfort and find none?
Never, I know! Thy soul is in thy face."

Robert Browning from Any Wife to Any Husband

Witch Weekly: Society

We at Witch Weekly were astounded to hear the sudden separation between Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy (née Black) for reasons unknown. This cataclysmic event follows a series of unfortunate events for Lucius Malfoy since the decision to part ways with the Board of Governors of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, following outrageous reports of blackmail within the Governors spearheaded after the alleged opening of the fabled Chamber of Secrets. Mr and Mrs Malfoy have been married since a young Narcissa Black graduated from Hogwarts, in a beautiful union that was orchestrated between the parents of the pair. They have been happily married in a love story of the decades until this summer. The stunning parents have two equally attractive children, Draco Lucius and Lacerta Andromeda, both whom attend Hogwarts (some even speculate that the fission was linked to Lacerta, who was at the epicentre of the Chamber of Secrets scandal). Narcissa has since relocated to France with her daughter, and we only hope her recovering heart heals in the country of romantics. We wish the best of luck to Narcissa, and to those who are keen to jump on the coattails of dear Lucius needn't bother! Sources have reported that he is awarding his estranged wife some space before he attempts to win her affections again. This is a romance story for the ages, and we will fervently report as the story progresses.

x-x-x-x-x

"This is the life."

Hermione peeked over her book and watch as Lacie stretched in her sun lounger, kicking out her legs to soak up as much blazing sun as she could, large sunglasses adorning her face. Hermione didn't see the point, they had been sunbathing for two weeks now and Lacie hadn't even tanned in the slightest. Hermione, on the other hand, hid underneath a large parasol and slathered sun cream all over her body every so often before returning to her book.

It had been two weeks since Hermione had arrived on the doorstep of a remote French villa in the Southern areas of France with her parents following a personal invitation from Narcissa Malfoy. At first, Hermione had treated the invite with trepidation, but her parents had urged her to go. They would most likely be very busy over the summer, and as much as they would miss her, she would probably have more fun in the company of her best friend.

Hermione wasn't worried about Lacie's company, however, it was her brother that Hermione couldn't stand.

Ever since Hermione Granger had the misfortune to stumble into Draco Malfoy's carriage on the Hogwarts Express and made the ill-informed decision to tell him of her parentage, he had been nothing short of insufferable. If Hermione had thought for one moment that having his sister as her best friend would ease the tension, it simply made things worse. Malfoy had made her life a living hell, and seemed to take great pleasure in trying to rid the world of her. The passing year was only testament to his will, poisoning her with Doxy venom under the guise of being her friend and parading his desire for her to lose a staring contest with a basilisk. Hermione snorted as she thought about it, she had thwarted his plans, and come out on the better side.

He underestimated Muggle-borns, that was for sure. Just like Voldemort, and just like Salazar Slytherin. Most of all, he had underestimated her, just like her childhood bully. Hermione wasn't scared of Malfoy, just as she was no longer scared of Lauren, but she hadn't been for years.

It was his rhetoric that she found more frightening, and the lengths that he and his friends would go to achieve it.

Considering Narcissa Malfoy had married into the family, and her husband had been the so-called reason why the Chamber of Secrets had been opened in the first place – Hermione was reluctant to forgo Ginny Weasley's part in it all, but as Lacie had repeated over and over again, the girl had been possessed – Hermione was unwilling to go to her villa in case the Malfoy intolerance of her would continue. It hadn't happened yet, but Hermione treated the woman with a pinch of salt, that is, if Narcissa ever left her room.

On the day of Hermione's arrival, Narcissa had played the role of gracious host impeccably. Hermione knew that it was a part of her strict training, the archaic ritual that children of 'proper' families went through in order to conduct themselves in a proper and orderly manner in the Wizarding world. Lacie was the perfect paragon beside her mother, and prepared tea for the Grangers as they sat in the drawing room to discuss details of Hermione's stay. Lacie then showed Hermione around the villa and to her room.

It was a breath of fresh Mediterranean air compared to Malfoy Manor.

Everything was carved out of light-coloured marble, and seemed to make everything seem light and airy, which was a stark contrast to the stuffiness of Malfoy Manor. Rooms flowed seamlessly into each other, and the furniture seemed comfortable, despite looking as if no one had ever used it before. Lacie directed Hermione to their side of the house, and opened a door to the room Hermione was to stay in.

After Hermione had managed to scrape her jaw off the ground, she looked around the room. In comparison to her room when she had stayed at Malfoy Manor, everything was a soft cream colour, except for her bedsheets, which were a pale blue. Masses of pillows were placed on her bed, which made her wonder how she was going to sleep with all of them on the bed. Her hand glided over the large dressing table, where a pretty lamp sat. Hermione had quirked her eyebrow at Lacie, who revealed that although the house was owned by the Malfoy family, it was rented out to Muggles from time to time.

"But don't your family detest Muggles?" Hermione had asked, "I thought the Malfoys would have bathed in their dirty blood, not do reputable business with them."

Lacie had forced a smile before explaining, "If you go back far enough, the Malfoys made their fortune from dealing with Muggles, it was only after the passing of the Statute of Secrecy where Malfoy-Muggle relations went into decline, but my mother wanted a house in France and my father gifted one to her. What she does with it when she is not here is her own business."

Hermione had nodded and dropped her single suitcase in the middle of the room before following Lacie out into the grounds. By the time they had finished exploring the grounds and the vast swimming pool, her parents were due to leave and they held Hermione close to them before thanking the Malfoy matriarch profusely and making their way to the door. Narcissa welcomed Hermione for a second time, and told her not to hesitate to ask her for anything before excusing herself.

Lacie had sighed at her mother's retreating form, and told Hermione that her mother was good at hiding her pain, but it was a rare sight for her to leave her room.

"If she's so upset, why would she leave your father?" Hermione questioned, staring at the archway that led to Narcissa's quarters.

"Because her children are important to her, and because I refused to return to the Manor and spent any time with that man," Lacie said, and Hermione knew that her best friend was trying to keep the sad tone from her voice. At that point, Hermione's stomach had grumbled and Lacie had fretted about her manners and ran towards the kitchen and Hermione followed.

Hermione, whilst aware that this house had been remodelled for Muggle usage when the Malfoys were not staying there, was still shocked to see how much it looked like one that one would find in a mansion. A marble island stood in the middle, and everything else in the kitchen were varying shades of cream and silver. Hermione knew what every appliance did, of course, and Lacie walked towards the island before calling out, "Sandrine!"

There was a loud crack and a small house-elf had appeared, dressed in a clean, cream silk dress. Hermione instantly recoiled and gave Lacie an accusatory look. Lacie rolled her eyes before speaking to the elf in rapid French, and the elf nodded and started preparing food. Lacie had then turned to Hermione, who clearly was uncomfortable with the idea of being waited on especially after knowing Dobby, and assured her that Sandrine wasn't doing anything she didn't want to. Sandrine was a free elf, but as most elves are, they are loyal to the families that raise and own them. The elf was part and parcel of the house, and Sandrine was more than happy to volunteer her services. Lacie also added that they also had a Squib housemaid, Anaïs, so Hermione was not to fret if she saw another unfamiliar face.

After that, every day had been full of the same activities. Hermione normally breakfasted alone as Lacie had her daily ballet lesson, and went out to read in the sunshine. Every so often, she would catch herself staring at the still pool, which was paved with the same marble that ran through the house, and her gaze skimmed the grounds that extended for several acres. Sometimes a small breeze would distract her, and Hermione revelled in the scent of summer. Her favourite day so far was when a gardener had arrived and spent half a day cutting the grass, Hermione would have basked in the scent all day if Lacie had let her. Lacie always joined her mid-morning, and would spend the day lounging in the sun. Occasionally she would pick up a book, and do a little of her summer homework but most of the time, she soaked up as much sun as she could.

When the air chilled, Hermione and Lacie would go back into the villa and talk about the upcoming year over dinner. Lacie would drag Hermione around different parts of the house and ask her to explain various appliances and listened carefully when Hermione explained its function. Lacie had found the idea of electricity interesting and seemed to grasp the concept quickly, before adding that her mother was too unfamiliar with the contraptions that lay around the house and preferred candles and magic.

Hermione was, however, fascinated at how things weren't exploding in their midst. She had always known that electricity was one of those inventions that interfered so strongly with magic that it rendered one or the other almost useless. An abundance of magical energy seemed to cause electrical currents to run wild, which was why thunderstorms at Hogwarts were almost legendary, captivating and deadly at the same time and an abundance of electricity seemed to draw out the worst of a witch's or wizard's magical core and made it harder for a magical person to control themselves, especially when they were in a foul mood, and amplified any magical power. It always explained why Harry found it difficult to control his magic when he was younger, and Ron, Hermione and Lacie often found themselves cackling at the stories their friend told them. Hermione explained this to Lacie who had pondered it over her dinner before sharing what had been thinking.

"Maybe because magic is so old and innate that it cannot reconcile itself with the new world so refuses to work with electricity," Lacie had said.

"Just like how purebloods can't reconcile the notion of Muggle-borns?"

Lacie had pointed her fork at Hermione, "Not all purebloods hate Muggle-borns."

"I concede, and I think maybe you're right. There has to be balances in the world, you know positive and negative, old and new, magic and electricity," Hermione had replied as she took a sip of her juice.

That had been a week ago. Hermione realised that she hadn't spoken in a while, and had not responded to Lacie's comment. The time had passed, though, and Hermione continued to read her book again. No sooner had she found her sentence again, a towel was thrown at her.

"Hermione, we are on holiday. We should relax and sunbathe and do nonsensical things."

"We sunbathe and relax every day," Hermione complained. "I always read, too, and you've never had a problem with that before."

"Did you even know that we have a swimming pool here?"

"Yes," Hermione sighed, "And...?"

"Oh, I would not have thought you noticed since you spend all holiday so far with your nose stuck in a book."

"I haven't seen you swim once," Hermione snapped. "Also, I'm trying to forget the unpleasantness that will be this afternoon."

Lacie rolled her eyes dramatically.

At first, Lacie had been emphatic in her approach, Malfoy had chosen to stay at the Manor over the holidays and her brother had no intention to come over and join them. Hermione had been content and happy with that, as she wanted to be nowhere near Malfoy until she was forced to be near in him their shared classes at Hogwarts. Even though their House tables sat at the opposite ends of Hogwarts, even that felt too close for Hermione's comfort.

Then a few days ago, on the rare occasion that Narcissa had graced them with her presence at dinner, she dropped the news that Malfoy was going to join them and was to be arriving in a few days – today – and spend the remainder of his holidays with them. Unaware of the heinous deeds of her son, she had asked both girls to welcome him in open arms and Hermione had stomped sourly back to her room. She had paced back and forth over the idea, and knew she had to pack her bags and go home. The last thing that she wanted to do was sunbathe and sip drinks with fancy umbrellas garnishing them whilst laughing in the summer sunset. She didn't want to play games, or discuss the news or talk about their upcoming year at Hogwarts and what subjects they had all chosen. She wanted to leave, immediately.

It was at that moment that Lacie had strolled into her room to explain the situation, and Hermione had let loose. Hermione demanded to know when Lacie was going to tell her that Malfoy was going to be visiting, and how long Lacie was going to keep it a secret, was she going to wait until Malfoy was sitting in the dining room one night and feign ignorance.

To her credit, Lacie had not balked and had defended herself, telling Hermione that she wasn't aware that her brother was going to come, and she wasn't going to scare Hermione off by saying so. He had made it clear at King's Cross that he was going to stay with his father, and for a time it seemed as if he was enjoying his time at the Manor. She didn't know what had made him change his mind but Hermione had to just deal with it.

"Deal with it?" Hermione had exclaimed in a shrill voice, "Need I remind you about what he did to me?"

Hermione also added that even Lauren – her childhood bully and tormentor, in case Lacie had forgotten – wasn't as malicious as Malfoy. Lacie had visibly winced before apologising over and over before asking Hermione to give Malfoy a chance to at least redeem himself.

I would rather forgive Professor Snape for all of those points he took away from me for merely breathing in class.

Lacie assured Hermione that she really wouldn't have to spend time with Malfoy, and Lacie would make sure her brother would stay out her way, if she really wanted him to be. Hermione didn't want to be in speaking distance of her brother, and made it clear that Lacie was lucky that it didn't extend to her for not even mentioning the slightest chance that Malfoy was going to be staying. Hermione was determined to return home, but she was too tired to throw a Lacie-like tantrum and furthermore, Draco was arriving on Friday. If the notion of Malfoy being there was truly unbearable, she could always message her parents to pick her up on the weekend. It was abrupt, but her parents would understand. Narcissa had promised all those weeks ago that she could ask her for anything.

"I would not call my brother unpleasant," Lacie said. "Seeing as he and I have some sort of resemblance."

"Explains a lot," Hermione muttered, and Lacie threw another towel. Hermione wondered under her breath as to where Lacie seemed to get all of her fluffy weapons. Next to her stood an exasperated Anaïs, who had just laundered some towels and offered them to Lacie. Lacie had merely thrown the fresh towels at her friend, and Hermione apologised on her behalf. Lacie looked up at the maid and spoke in quick French. She went back to reclining in the sun. The maid dropped off a plethora of magazines, and Lacie stared at them. Hermione returned to her book, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Lacie reach for the topmost one and flick lazily through it.

Something in the magazine had caught her attention, as she whispered angrily under breath before slamming the periodical onto the table again. Hermione glanced over.

"Bad article?"

"Anyone who writes the articles in Witch Weekly is a moron," Lacie snapped. "Attempt to win her attentions again, my arse. Mother would be an idiot to be wooed by his pathetic charms."

"If you hate it so much, why would you read it?" Hermione asked.

"Because I'm bored, all you seem to want to do is read that stuffy textbook."

"I like being prepared," Hermione said. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"Hermione, we are in one of the most beautiful places on earth, we do not need Arithmancy theories to appreciate that."

Every few days or so, Lacie would antagonise Hermione by lamenting about how much Hermione preferred to read in the shade rather than sunbathe, or swim or go around the village and do some shopping. At first, it was irritating and Hermione humoured Lacie and asked her what she wanted to do. Her friend only wanted to relax in the sunshine in her two-piece bikini and devour drink after drink delivered by her house-elf, whilst discussing ideas with Hermione, especially about their new subjects that they were going to take. Hermione picked Lacie's brain about Divination, her friend having already had a little experience in the subject and Lacie often quizzed her about what she thought was going to be on the Muggle Studies curriculum. However, Hermione found simply lying in the sun boring, and Lacie didn't really want to swim. Hermione knew there was a deeper reason than not wanting to mess up her hair, but she didn't want to press it.

After arguing the last time about how Hermione found lying in the sun boring, and Lacie had stormed off into the house, Hermione knew that she was to concede and bear whatever uninteresting task Lacie wanted to do. Hermione rolled her eyes before folding a corner of the page she was reading and closed the book with a snap. She placed it on the ground next to her sun lounger.

Hermione folded the corner of the page she was reading and closed the book with a snap and placed it on the table.

"Happy?"

Lacie didn't speak to her as she called the house-elf to her. After weeks of convincing herself that Sandrine was volunteering to serve the Malfoy family, Hermione had relaxed at her presence and listened as Lacie spoke to her.

"Sandrine, encore un limonade pour ma copine et moi, s'il vous plaît," she said kindly. The house-elf nodded slightly and turned away.

"Et moi, Sandrine."

Hermione looked up and saw Draco Malfoy saunter outside as he took off his thick outer robe, clearly anticipating a cooler temperature. He threw it onto a chair beside him and undid several buttons of his shirt before rolling up his sleeves. Hermione watched as he squinted in the burning sun, before looking and smiling at the girls. He waved at them before saying, "Bonsoir."

A/N: Hello my lovelies, I am back! I know I said end of August, but I got the date of my assignment deadlines mixed up and since they're all handed in voila, the third instalment of the Bright Star series. If this is the first story you've read, I wholly suggest you go back to the first story: Bright Star and begin from there, this is the third story which will be an AU of Prisoner of Azkaban. If you're too busy reading the Cursed Child and want the cliffnotes version, Lacerta/Lacie is an OC who is also Draco's twin sister, Hermione's best friend, a Gryffindor, receiver of the last ten points in PS instead of Neville, part of the group that went into the Chamber of Secrets etcetc. However, for contextual reasons for Lacie's certain character traits further along in the story, I do suggest giving the last few chapters of Bound By a little read. Just a little.

Also I have read the Cursed Child but I won't allude to my feelings on the matter just in case you haven't.

If you read Bound By before, with this story as I am still currently writing it, I will be uploading only ONCE as week every Thursday at a time of my choosing or at least I'll try and keep to that schedule but as I've written quite a lot already (I hope without the need for re-editing all over again). Story openers in this story are courtesy of Robert Browning.

As always, happy reading.

CSxo.